Monthly Archives: May 2014

Bedtime. That time of night when IF I have survived the day without anything immediately distressing happening I can pat myself on the back and say “Well Done!” All 5 of us are still here!

I know how busy having kids can be and I’m exhausted by bedtime!!

Exhausting?! Who me!?

I have come to the realization and joyful chuckle that there are 2 kinds of bedtime. There is bedtime in one home that is pretty quick. Brush teeth, gargle, spit, story, and kiss.

Then there is bedtime in a home with 3 girls. 3 girls with biracial hair. 3 girls who have a mom obsessed with finding the easiest, most natural, least chemical, most joyful approach to caring for natural hair possible.

Welcome to my bedtime routine.

In this bedtime routine her hair is clean, moisturized, and not wet. She was using dry banding as a natural relaxant todayso she could do her own hair style in the morning, so her hair is much more relaxed in this photo using this natural technique. For wet hair see: How to Use the Denman Brush for Detangling wet biracial hair.

This bedtime process is crucial for our biracial hair care. It prevents tangleswhile sleeping, keeps the hair smooth and manageable for the girls to begin taking responsibility for their own hair brushing and care, and it allows pre-parts for styles that can be done in the morning before school easily.Usually, in our home the process is done on wet hair. But for the occasional time when they want a specific style requiring dry bedtime hair, I wanted to show you how we still maintain a no tangle and joyful hair routine for the morning by using dry banding at night. (Here’s the Video Tutorial for Banding)

Before developing this routine for our home, In the morning we used to wake up to tears and extreme tangles. My girls’ hair form locks very fast. Sometimes before I began this routine if they slept one night with hair free by morning we had knots and locks that were so matted they had to be cut out. Since starting this technique years ago, we have no more tangles in the morning, easily manageable hair, protected hair, less breakage, and and also our girls’ hair has grown several inches every year!

So, here it is:

Step 1: Hair should be clean and if dry banding only brush gently with a soft haired brush to band (see styling supplies post).

Step 2:Part the hair suitable for your morning style (for example, if you want to do a 4 parted section style in am, then part that pattern and band it tonight, and in the morning the style will be a breeze : )

Step 3:Leave about 1 inch of space, gently smooth the hair downward and apply an “Ouchless” pony tail holder, and not too tightly. (****Do NOT use cheap poor quality pony holders. I have tried saving money doing that and they stick to the hair or are harsh and damage the hair. Watch her hair type carefully and only use the softest and loosest needed for her hair type. NEVER use rubber bands for this. )

Step 4: Repeat as many times as needed for length of hair.Step 5: Repeat as many times as needed for length of hair.

Step 6: Repeat as many times needed for length of hair.

Step 7: Apply a satin sleep cap or use a satin sleeping pillowcase to prevent breakage and protect hair (and keep a style if you have one that you want to keep for a bit).

That’s it!

Now, we can brush teeth, gargle, spit, story and a kiss! Goodnight!! ~ Joy